Although the clarity of this reproduction is not as good as desired, it is the best available, and will be helpful in servicing these old instruments. This machinery, using the s of existing original piano roll stencil masters, was first restored and used by. The thinking also was that it was rare for any pianist to utilize wildly varying dynamics between the. From 19 ampico was one of the leading producers of reproducing pianos, the others being duoart 19 and weltemignon 1905. While the main points are still valid some of the prices will have changed. A piano roll is a music storage medium used to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. The square piano, with strings parallel to the keys, was the most popular domestic piano until the early19thcentury perfection, in philadelphia, of the upright piano. Hickman, a young engineer taken on by the company in 1924, who had a ph. Helping you determine the value of a piano please note, this article was written back in 2009. The ampico reproducing piano inspectors instruction book 1919. How brisbane collector found his symphonique ampico player piano.
I have restored hundreds of paper roll player pianos, including aeolian, gulbransen, ampico, duo art, simplex, standard, wurlitzer, welte european and american, and many others. Please select a rating before leavingi aim for five stars. Piano buyer is the definitive guide for buying a new piano. I have installed many qrs pianomation player systems in customers upright and grand pianos. It makes a nice counterpoint to arthur loessers book men, women, and pianos. It is currently a line of pianos manufactured by samick musical instruments.
Most of the illustrations are made from sectional drawings in order to show the internal ar rangement of the channels, valves, etc. The ampico reproducing piano inspectors instruction book 1919 primary source edition paperback february 28, 2014. Ampico rolls player piano rolls made by the american. This page contains a huge list of piano makers and manufacturers. It is in nice, original, unrestored, untamperedwith condition. The ampico reproducing piano inspectors instruction book 1919 paperback october 11, 2018 by anonymous author. A fascinating celebration of the piano, including tales of its masters from mozart and beethoven to oscar peterson and jerry lee lewis, told with the expertise of composer and author of temperament, stuart isacoff. This auction is for a 5 8 ampico b reproducing piano. During 1904, the firm of edwin welte in germany had developed a new kind of player piano, known at first as the weltemignon. It is used extensively as a source book in the piano business by both consumers and members of the trade. Company history your resource for complete piano care.
Chickering about 5 5 grand piano, mahogany, iv keys, tuned. Ampico lexington 88n on the good ship lollipop cook. The ampico reproducing piano inspectors instruction book. Today, the name chickering and sons continues to be used as a piano brand under the baldwin piano company, which bought the companys assets and rights. The company was established in 1908 under the aegis of wm. Many piano company names on this list are no longer used and the makers. Biography index, a cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines, volume 4.
Player piano rolls made by the american piano company. This information can help guide you in making important decisions. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Blueprint of the tubing for the model a ampico grand, which is equally useful for uprights. Player piano rolls made by the american piano company produced its own expression mechanism and called it the ampico. The roll moves over a reading system known as a tracker bar and the playing cycle for each musical note is triggered when a. Fill out the form at this link, library checkout, to begin the checkout process.
Piano rolls, like other music rolls, are continuous rolls of paper with perforations holes punched into them. This article is a list of piano brand names from all over the world. Chickering quickly became one of the largest and most successful piano manufacturers of all time. Information about the ampico reenacting piano, the player piano, pianola, the reproducing piano, their music, history, design, development, advertising, music. The vestal press has long had a successful book in print on how to restore. This book is a breezy look at the history of the piano, clearly written to appeal to both musicians and nonmusicians. Ampico piano recordings cold weather catalogs 20152016. Tremaine was a business genius who brought about the commercial exploitation of the piano player on a big scale. Chickering piano prices and value upright, grand new, used. Mbsi members may borrow the following books and pamphlets from the musical box society library for a nominal charge. Most pianos can be fitted with a pianomation player system. Sterne makes clear in his book is the cultural labor that was required to attain this. I i 9wfiroclucin book 1919 with 1920 supplement reprinted by the vestal press, vestal, n. I have a knabe ampico grand piano in good shape needs a.
In 1925 and 1926, a new ampico recording machine was developed by clarence n. Chickering pianos for sale buy a chickering piano at. An old time name in the piano industry, one of the pioneers in american piano history. Would be an excellent candidate for the full restoration is deserves. Antique ampico b knabe reproducing player piano signed. It received medals and diplomas for the excellence of its instruments wherever they have been exhibited, notably at the philadelphia worlds fair in 1876, and at chicago in 1908.
Keystone player piano music rolls, new histographic ampico. The english piano maker john broadwood 17321812 was the first to develop the present heavier, more sonorous instrument. Rachmaninov plays rachmaninov the ampico piano recordings. Antique pianos, grand pianos, upright pianos, square grands pianos, complex machines with thousands of moving parts, are also works of art. Review of this interesting new piano book abc books 2001. The ages and historical records of pianos sold in america. Full text of the ampico reproducing piano inspectors instruction book 1919 see other formats 7 3. Ampico was an american piano manufacturer located in east. Ampico recording piano at chickering hall 29 west 57th street, new york, 1927. Duoart audiographic rolls, introduced in 1927, were intended for. Full text of the ampico reproducing piano inspectors. Discover your piano s age and country of origin with our 5 star accuracy guide to ensure the quality and.
A comprehensive mechanical music reading list can also be accessed by clicking this reading list link. This is the answer and the only free publication to provide this information in the piano industry. The player piano and reproducing mechanism was designed by charles fuller stoddard 18761958. The company was reorganized and renamed to chickering and sons in 1853 following the destruction of the companys factory in december 1852 in a massive fire. If you own an ordinary player piano, dont buy ampico or duoart rolls since your instrument cannot play them. Ampicorolls 630 broad st shrewsbury new jersey 07702 7327477900. This is the best book i have seen on the piano as an instrument, how it is manufactured, and the history of the piano. Each piano is manufactured with a unique serial number that is recorded for future reference of not only when it was made but also where. This list also includes names of old instruments which are no longer in production. The complete catalog of ampico reproducing piano rolls in.
Allan evans is the discography compiler for this book. The south bronx had many piano warehouse factorycompanies. Final price would be determined by actual condition and local market. It is a knabe piano with the ampico b reproducing mechanism. The company chose to introduce their machine to the public through a formal demonstration held at the hotel biltmore in new york city in 1916. Reproducing pianos are so called because they are equipped to reproduce. Ampico was an american piano manufacturer located in east rochester, new york, which was known from the beginning for the production of high quality player pianos. Ampico reproducing piano service manual 1929 player piano book. Foreword explanations in this book are for the purpose of giving the inspector a thorough understanding of the working principles of the ampico. That is fine unless, like me, you were looking for the previous 100 years since the very earliest fortepianos. Steinway hh400 conceptual design of a model d artcase piano by l. I have a 1929 ampico parlor grand player piano for sale. Yet the player piano remains deeply misunderstood in both its cultural and.
A social history in that it is far less sexist and takes the piano s role in. Tremaine and his colleagues, gave many of the other american piano manufacturers pause for thought. Free piano prices guide new or used fair market value. Rare chickering grand 9ft 1868 to 1878 presidential piano. Take, for example, aeolians authors rolls for its duoart reproducing piano. The ampico, duoart and welte reproducing systems and their music are. This instrument and its rivals have over the years come to be known as reproducing pianos, the other main systems being the ampico and the duoart. Pukalani palace ampico player piano roll collection maui. Tantillo this guide listed below is designed to give information about specific american piano manufacturers and more, during the last 183 years or so.
Catherine beilefeldt is deeply involved in a piano restoration company south of chicago, and the piano technicians guild maintains very close contact with her. Your piano s age is one of the most significant factors in determining your piano s value. If your piano has an ampico or duoart system, then you probably already take great pride in owning a. The history of automatic instruments is significant also for how it relates the history. The pianocorder story book history of the marantz reproducing piano. Today, the name chickering and sons continues to be used as a piano brand under the baldwin piano company, which.
Check out rachmaninov plays rachmaninov the ampico piano recordings by sergei rachmaninoff on amazon music. The ampico name which is an abbreviation for american piano company was established between 19 and 1916. The history of this company, starting in 1789, is the history of the piano business in america. Knowing the fair market value of chickering pianos is useful to sellers, buyers and owners. Introduction the phenomenal commercial success and sheer size of the aeolian, weber piano and pianola company, founded in the summer of 1903 by h. The earliest ampico a models split this level control into lower and upper halves of the piano, but when the ampico b was produced in the 1920s, the need for such a split was negated by more effective coding. Much of the information here is from the piano book by larry fine for a great source of additional information check out our piano forums today. Please support this 70year tradition of trusted historical writing and the. List of books and articles about piano history online. Notable pianists on ampico and also on duoart or welte rolls. This book is the history of the haines brothers, a german family of piano makers who moved to the usa. Knabe was a highend piano manufactured in baltimore.
This book isnt for those deep into playerpiano history and technology, but for. Chickering was established in 1823 by jonas chickering and james stewart in boston, massachusetts. Many of these piano brand names are stencil pianos, which means that the company which owns the brand name is simply applying the name to a piano manufactured for them by another company, and that the same or very similar pianos are sold. Isbn 0960117210 history of ampico, by the pianola institute, london, accessed april 1, 2009. Iwued fcy the engineering department american piano company new york, u. This listing contains hundreds of pianos in its long history of manufacturing.
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